


Breaking the Ice

by a_smut_sundae



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, bed sharing, college rhink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21831625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_smut_sundae/pseuds/a_smut_sundae
Summary: The furnace that heats Syme dorm breaks overnight, leaving Rhett and Link in a chilly situation.A Secret Santa gift for Scout! (@beepbeepdeadboy)
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31
Collections: Mythical Secret Santa 2019





	Breaking the Ice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beepbeepdeadboy](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=beepbeepdeadboy).

Link woke feeling like he had been dunked in an ice bath. Freezing and shivering, he pawed at his blankets to check they hadn’t fallen off him during the night. Living in the below ground level of Syme Dorm had its perks in summer of being cooler than the rest of the building, but now in December, the perk had turned into a curse. The dropping temperatures mixed with snow made the lower floor feel like the North Pole. Link sighed, trying to snuggle some non existent heat from his blankets. He looked down from his top bunk, the radio clock showed it was 6.55. He turned over, debating if it was worth trying to cocoon himself in his blankets and go back to sleep. After tossing and turning for a few more minutes, Link gave up and got out of bed.  
  
Quietly slinging his bathrobe on, as not to wake Rhett, Link grabbed his shower caddy and trudged to the communal showers.  
_ Maybe a hot shower will heat me up. _  
Just before the showers there’s a group of people standing around the noticeboard with a large poster;  
THE SYME DORM FURNACE HAS MALFUNCTIONED OVERNIGHT.  
REPAIRS WILL NOT BE FINISHED UNTIL JANUARY 9  
NO HEATING OR HOT WATER WILL BE AVAILABLE IN SYME DORM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.  
THERE IS A NUMBER OF SPACE HEATERS AVAILABLE AT THE HOUSING OFFICE.  
IF YOU DO NOT NEED TO STAY ON CAMPUS, WE RECOMMEND GOING HOME.  
ALTERNATIVE SHOWERS CAN BE FOUND AT GOLD AND WELCH DORMS.  
  
STUDENT HOUSING  
  


Link ran back to his dorm, got changed and made a run for the housing office, to find a short line. After a quick wait, Link was filled with hope as the girl in front of him receives a small heater from the woman at the reception desk.  
“Hi, I’m from Syme Dorm and was wondering if there was any heaters left.”  
“Sorry, I just gave out the last one.”  
_ shoot _  
“But, I can you give this.” She holds up a hot water bottle.  
“Sure, it’s better than nothing. Can I grab one for my dorm mate?”  
“Sure, Green or Pink?”  
“Green.”  
Link went back to his room, cold and annoyed. Sure the hot water bottles would be a heat source, but a heater didn’t require going to another dorm in the cold for hot water.  
  
“Why is it so damn cold?” Link was greeted by Rhett putting on another pair of socks, before reswaddling himself in his duvet.  
“Furnace fried itself bo, they’re telling people to go home.”  
“Man, we would already be there if we didn’t have a final tomorrow.”  
“Well we can spend the day studying in the library at least, tonight I’m not so sure about. Housing was giving away heaters, but ran out by the time I got there, so we got these instead” Link held up the hot water bottles as Rhett snorted  
“And I guess they expect us to run between dorms for hot water?”

Link sighed, gathering his text books and gym bags.  
“I’m gonna go to the gym and try to warm up and then go study.” Meet you at the library at 11 bo?”  
“Sure.”  
  
Rhett was secretly pleased about this situation. Not so much with the fact that he was freezing his ass off, but that the situation could potentially lead to being close to Link. Since they had become roommates they had grown closer. It started with an accidental kiss as Link was heading to his first class. Furiously blushing, Link had explained that he was used to kissing his Mama goodbye on the cheek before heading to school.  
Far from teasing him, Rhett just let him be, giving his slow burning crush fuel to build.  
  


Rhett found their usual quiet spot in the library and began to go through his notes for tomorrow. Whilst Link looked focused on his study, Rhett was barely paying attention to the task at hand. His mind continued to wander to how tonight was gonna play out, which led to thoughts about going home tomorrow after their final. When he wasn’t spacing out, Rhett had gone through and written a few practice answers based on previous finals papers and reread his notes a few times. He stared out the window seeing dusk begin to close in.  
“I think my brain is about to burst.” Rhett sighed  
“I want to go back to our room, but it’s going be freezing.”  
“I have a plan to fix that. Rhett answered with a smile, Do you wanna go grab a couple of pizzas bo, and I’ll meet you back at the dorm?”  
Link packed up and left. Leaving Rhett to finalise his idea for the night before racing back to the dorm. 

When Rhett got back to the chilly dorm room, he snatched all of Link’s bedding off the top bunk and threw it all on to his bunk before inspecting the space. If he left the bunks in the centre of the room, he would have to somehow make walls for the two longer sides and the foot of the bunks, but if turned the bunks so they were against the wall, with the head of the bunks against the adjoining wall, not only would there be less space to cover.  
  
_Look at me being an engineer_ Rhett smirked to himself.  
  
Next he gathered one of Link’s sheets and hung it at the exposed end of the bunks. He gathered the second, and hung it over the last exposed side. Rhett stood back, checking for any gaps, before rolling the longer side up and grabbing the hot water bottles. Rhett braved the cold and ran across to Gold to fill them with water and then carried them back under his jacket.  
  
Rhett put the first hot water bottle in the centre of his bed and then covered it with his duvet. He then grabbed the second hot water bottle placed it towards the foot of the bed  
  
The final touch was removing the Christmas lights from their tiny tree and sticking them around the inside frame of the top bunk. Rhett secured the last light just as Link walked in.

“What’s this bo?”  
“I figured maybe we could have tonight like an indoor camping situation.”  
“I see that.”  
“No smores, but I left space for us to see the tv.”  
“Shouldn’t we be studying?”  
Rhett scoffed, “We studied all day, the final isn’t until 1pm and if we don’t know it by now, we ain’t gonna know it.”  
Link handed Rhett the pizza box, and climbed on to the bed.  
  
***  
Once the pizza was scoffed down and they had channel surfed for a couple of hours, both boys were getting tired.  
“So how’s this gonna work?”  
“We could top and tail?” Rhett suggested.  
“And get kicked in the face, nah bo.”  
“Look dude, I don’t care. Just get in the bed so we both get to be warm, and don’t die of hypothermia before going home.”  
Link furrowed his eyebrows, trying to find a hole in Rhett’s argument. “Are you gonna be comfortable next to me? You always complain that I end up spoonin’ you.”  
“Bein’ spooned is better than bein’ cold.”  
Rhett climbed onto the bed, positioning himself against the wall. Link followed, stiffly lying down on the edge of the bunk.  
"Get closer or you're gonna fall off."  
Link sighed in resignation and inched closer to Rhett.  
“This is nice, if not weird.”  
“You’re the one making it weird. I went to the trouble of hanging Christmas lights in here and you’re whining about it being weird.”  
“Sorry, I’m just stressed about tomorrow. The fairy lights are nice, almost soothing.”  
“I know bo. Just try and relax.”  
Rhett could tell Link was hesitating, not knowing where he should put his hands. He grabbed Link’s hand and wrapped it around his waist.  
“I told ya, I don’t mind.”  
Link surged forward and kissed Rhett gently on the lips.  
“Thanks Rhett.”  
“What for?”  
Link’s light snore came as the response.  
“Good night bo.” Rhett whispered, placing a kiss on the top of Link’s head.


End file.
